5 Things to Know About Netflix's Anne of Green Gables Reboot

After Anne of Green Gables debuted on CBC in 1985 , the two-part series was one of the highest-rated dramas on Canadian television, and aired a year later in the U.S., where an adoring audience fell in love with Anne Shirley, Gilbert Blythe and Prince Edward Island. Now, a new generation can hop on board Matthew's buggy and start fantasizing about puffed sleeves, because the iconic series is being rebooted by Netflix.

Here's the five things we know so far about the remake:

1. Netflix and the CBC are uniting to produce the series, which is great new for fans, as Netflix has set a precedent of championing beloved properties and not scrimping on the production budget (see the glossy high-value Black Mirror Season 3, for example.)

2. The eight-episode series is being filmed on location on Prince Edward Island, where the original story is set.

3. The showrunner and co-writer Moira Walley-Beckett, who won an Emmy for writingBreaking Bad's legendary "Ozymandias" episode, has promised a grittier take on Green Gables than its predecessor. "This is a very grounded, real version of the story. Life in Prince Edward Island in the late 1800s was a hard, gritty, scrappy life. It was messy, it was covered in red mud," she told the CBC. "It's not doilies and teacups, it's life."

Netflix's Anne

4. Put down that box of red hair dye, because the titular Anne has already been cast! After seeing 1,800 girls for the part, Amybeth McNulty, a 14-year-old Canadian-Irish actress, won the role of a lifetime. Her predecessor Megan Follows had her career launched by the role and now stars (and sometimes directs) on The CW's Reign.

5. In a bold move that may cause a little pearl-clutching among purists, the reboot will be titled simply Anne as opposed to the more characteristically flowery Anne of Green Gables (the plainspoken Marilla at least would approve).

The series is scheduled to premiere in the spring, so you've got plenty of time to start stitching period costumes for your Anne premiere party.